Are you in the position of being confident that everything is compliant to the UAE VAT law and then suddenly get fined because of noncompliance; and it turns out that it is something so simple that could have been easily avoided?

As of 30th April 2019, The UAE Cabinet introduced economic substance (“ES”) rules. Further guidance (Ministerial Decision No 215 For The Year 2019 On The Issuance Of Directives For The Implementation Provisions For The Cabinet Decision No (31) of 2019 Concerning Economic Substance Requirements) was released on 11 September which provides further elaboration on the requirements for any entity that meets the definition for a relevant activity.

Business can be tough when supply exceeds market demand. This is the time when businesses should pay closer attention to costs. Ask yourself “how much sales do we need to generate profit of $1” and this simple question will bring into sharper focus of the benefit of having a more effective cost management.

Many SMEs, especially those who are just starting a business, often overlook the management of cash coming in and out of their business. It is a common error thinking that if money is coming in, the business is performing and will have sufficient resources to pay for its purchases and expenses. Cash is key to the survival of your business and ignoring the needs for an accurate cashflow management process can lead to shocks that could cripple your business.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Government has taken a progressive step in its commitment to comply with international good governance standards by ratifying Resolution No.31 of 2019, concerning Economic Substance Regulations in the UAE, “the Regulations” on April 30, 2019.

The UAE Economic Substance (ES) rules have been designed to follow the guidance issued by the European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

A salon owner operated several branches across the UAE providing ladies cosmetic and beauty services.

For a local restaurant business owner, controlling their operations remotely had always proved to be a challenge. They had employed a manager to run
daily operations, but accurate and timely reporting was a challenge with the owner receiving excel
reports for limited information.

For some companies, outsourcing their accounting and VAT has proved to be a good decision to manage their financial management & compliance obligations at a lower total cost of ownership than inhouse recruitment.
For others it has proved to be a bad experience that leads to frustrations resulting in poor financial reporting, compliance risks and time wasted.

The Executive Regulations entail greater discipline to record your sales and purchases accurately to file accurate returns and support the provision of financial statements if requested by the Federal Tax Authority. These legal obligations may be at the forefront of your decision to adopt a platform, in this paper we discuss the key tips to help you implement a successful approach.

For any business, good financial management is the foundation to reaching profitability. But as a start-up or small business, your first thought inevitably goes towards growing the top line and this emphasis can lead to major issues later if you under invest in your financial management framework.